Psychopath
A Psychopath is a person who is incapable of emotion and takes no responsibility for his/her actions. They often consider themselves grandiose or above others. Most psychopaths are highly intelligent, narcissistic, and may appear to be a "blank slate" when in the depths of their pathology. Traits As stated before, people of this personality disorder may display no empathy towards others and no remorse or guilt. However, they can mimic emotions almost perfectly to further their own personal agendas, are very skilled in the arts of deception, and may actually appear charming, friendly, or even likable. Some psychopaths will engage in severe antisocial behavior, such as murder (even serial or mass murder), animal cruelty, or sexual crimes. Sociopath A sociopath is a psychopath who may not display criminal behavior, but will display social deviance. Most sufferers of this disorder can only feel pleasure in the misfortune of others. They may feel the need for power and will feed off of the negative emotions (notably fear) of others. Many do, however, display criminal behavior, and sociopaths are among the worst of them. An outside observer may see a sociopath as "purely and simply evil". Treatment There are currently no medicinal treatments for psychopathy, and talk therapy only serves to further the ability to mimic emotions. There is believed to be a genetic propensity in the cases of psychopathy, as the trait appears to run in families. As a possible genetic disorder, there may never be an effective treatment. Diagnosis Aggressive Narcissism #Glibness/superficial charm #Grandiose sense of self-worth #Pathological lying #Cunning/manipulative #Lack of remorse or guilt #Emotionally shallow #Callous/lack of empathy #Failure to accept responsibility for own actions Social Deviance #Need for stimulation/proneness to boredom #Parasitic lifestyle #Poor behavioral control #Promiscuous sexual behavior #Lack of realistic, long-term goals #Impulsiveness #Irresponsibility #Juvenile delinquency #Early behavioral problems #Revocation of conditional release Examples Criminal Minds * Adrian Bale * Nathan Harris * Frank Breitkopf * George Foyet * Danny Murphy * Ray Campion *Raymond Donovan and Sydney Manning *Greg Phinney *Randy Slade Other Fiction * Norman Bates (Psycho) * Diogenes Pendergast (Preston-Child series of novels) * Dexter Morgan (Dexter series of novels) ''is a self-proclaimed sociopath * In the BBC drama ''Sherlock, Sherlock Holmes is labelled a psychopath, to which he replies, "I am a high-functioning sociopath." Real World * Eric Harris * Jeffrey Dahmer * Charles Manson * Ted Bundy Notes *Some psychopaths, while appearing outwardly evil and violent, may adhere to a moral code that prevents them from harming a particular demographic. Frank Breitkopf, for example, while being a merciless killer, would never harm children. Even though he kidnapped a group of school children, he made every effort to ensure their safe return. When he explained the situation to Jason Gideon concerning the busload of children, he told him that he would never harm them. Jason believed him, as he knew Frank had no reason or desire to harm them, only to use them as an escape route. However, Frank says this because he gets no sexual gratification out of harming children, not because he cares about their well-being. Harming them, further, would likely have jeopardized his escape and his life on the run now that the FBI knew his identity. *George Foyet is a sociopath who displays the worst of the common traits of these individuals. He feeds off of his victims fears, and does everything in his power to impart absolute terror in his victims before he kills them. He also wants to ensure that they know he is going to kill them; an example of the narcissistic side of this disorder, and if unable to (such as the victim being unconscious) will leave a bullet beside them showing that he could have. Further Reading * Psychopathy-Wikipedia * Understanding the Psychopath Category:Mental Illness